A year ago, Vanderbilt’s emergency system was not prepared for a shooting on the level of the Virginia Tech tragedy. This was hardly unique — most universities were not prepared for something that nobody expected to happen in the proportions of Virginia Tech. Since that point in time, the university has made significant strides in providing an environment prepared for dangers may arise.

The administration’s encouraging response to the technical proficiency and efficiency of the emergency text messaging system has been a significant display of responsiveness to the concerns of the student body. It often seems the administration will respond to a legitimate problem on campus with a vow to correct the situation over the summer. When MobileVU failed to properly respond to the tornadoes in February, the administration quickly and transparently moved from the original system to the new AlertVU. These changes reflect a sincere effort to both protect and reassure students about the potential dangers the events of the past year have reminded us can happen upon any campus.

While some expressed irritation about the university’s testing of the system during the storms last week, the editorial board sees the decision as a positive way to ensure the system works in a situation in which students perceive a legitimate threat. By incorporating text messages, e-mail and a steady, thorough police presence on campus, the university critically has focused on redundancy in the most accessible forms of mass communication on campus.

These changes also reflect recognition of the reality that natural disasters will happen, and not every individual can be prevented from acting in a harmful or unsafe manner. Northern Illinois University was prepared for a shooting like the one that occurred there in February, but there were limits to how much they could do. Fortunately, they minimized the effects of the situation. The administration at Vanderbilt should be commended for preparing in the same way.